According to the official reports, authorities in Delray Beach, Fla., have arrested a former city commissioner on charges concerning an alleged Ponzi scheme that netted $1.8 million.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported on Thursday that Police Detective Casey Thume said realtor Charlotte Durante used her influence as a former commissioner to solicit investments that Durante said would go toward helping her clients make down payments on various properties. Durante allegedly told investors when the loans were paid back, they would realize a return of up to 18 percent.

Durante was charged with 56 counts of grand theft, one count of money laundering and one count of fraud.

Thume said, "When all this started crashing down, that's when she couldn't keep up with the payments. When you're paying 16 to 18 percent, it's hard to keep up with that."

Durante is the owner of Durante Realty and a licensed real estate broker. "This is someone who has never missed church on Sunday," Lori Durante, her daughtersaid.

Durante used the money for personal expenses and to pay the mortgage for property designated as the future site of the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History, where Lori Durante is the current executive director, president and curator, authorities further said. (With Inputs from Agencies)